Dads and Kids Cookin Together

For many parents, "kids in the kitchen" conjures
up images of children wielding sharp knives and a sticky mess from floor to ceiling, but
it doesn't have to be that way. Putting your kids to work helping with family meals can be
safe, clean, and fun for everyone.

We've listed some fun recipes that you and your children
can make together. The two most important things to remember are, to be safe and for all
of you to have fun preparing and eatting the food you make.

Pizza wheel: great for chopping ham,
cutting up fruit, slicing peppers (skin side down so the blade doesn't slip), cutting
sandwiches in half

Styrofoam trays (from vegetables): use
as a disposable cutting tray under the pizza wheel. The texture of the tray keeps the
blade of the wheel from slipping around, the edges of the tray contain the mess

Hand held grater (available in
plastic): use for grating cheese, cracker or cookie crumbs or strawberry or kiwi
"sauce". (Tupperware makes a plastic grater that fits into the lid of a mixing
bowl to catch the crumbs, cheese or sauce.)

In addition to being fun, your kitchen is also one of the
most valuable classrooms in your house from the moment your baby can sit up. Colors shapes
and numbers are all there waiting to challenge your child each step of the way. Babies
will pass up their fancy toys every time for a chance to match up pots and lids or stack
plastic containers. Toddlers love to "sort" silverware and fold napkins into
triangles. Next time you need 60 marshmallows for Rice Krispie treats, have your
preschooler count out 6 groups of 10 marshmallows each and teach fractions with sticks of
butter.

Older Kids

Older kids will learn basics of science when
they knead dough and stir sauces. And there is the all important lesson that cooking is
accomplished with all the senses. As dinner is brewing, talk about the smells, sounds,
textures and appearance of the food being transformed. Your children will then taste with
a new appreciation, especially if they've had a hand in making dinner.

The
Benefits of Family Meal Time

Experts say that if families would gather around
the dinner table more often, the benefits to children such as improved academic
performance and higher self-esteem would abound.

American families eat together 4.8 times per
week, according to a 1995 survey by the Food Marketing Institute.

Tom Cottle, PhD, a clinical psychologist and
Professor of Education at Boston University School of Education says, Take time to
linger over meals, as people in other cultures do, and rediscover each family member. Let
eating together become one of the threads that holds the fabric of the family
together.

Researchers at Harvard Graduate School of
Education have found that dinner conversation can help expand a childs vocabulary.

Sharing family meals also offers nutrition
benefits. Parents serve as role models, letting their children observe them enjoying a
variety of healthful foods.

Research shows that children are more open to
tasting new foods when they help prepare them.

Even an occasional family meal can be successful.
Make a commitment to sit down at the table family-style at least two to three times a
week.